Project Monitoring and Control – Methods and Tips

Project monitoring and control

Among the many actions taken in developing any task and it is important to follow the right project monitoring and control technique. It is mandatory to check and verify if the actual work is the same as that of the planned task. In case of deviation, a control action must be taken to avoid any last-minute delays. 

You can register for a PMP certification course to learn in detail.

Why it is required 

1. It is better to check at each stage than to regret after investing time and money in the project. 

2. At each stage one must check whether the work in progress (WIP) is in line with the time frame planned. 

3. Also, whether planned resources are working in the project and if there is any corrective action needed, then it has to be the right time to ensure successful delivery. 

4. Project monitoring and control is essential to not only know that there is a delay but to also understand the reason for the change which will help better planning in the future. 

5. Every PMP online training will cover this topic extensively as it is important for a PM to know how to monitor and control when there are any deviations  

Methods involved in monitoring and control project management

Before knowing the methods it is important to know the processes involved in project monitoring and control as this term is very generic with several specific actions involved in it. 

• First things first and hence we must start with a plan for the project keeping the changes in mind. Yes, it is not possible to execute the project just as planned. Therefore plan in such a way to integrate changes so that it does not affect the cost and time greatly. 

• Then make sure to verify the scope after performing quality control. The customer will verify the scope and give a go-ahead to proceed further, thus keep scope verification after quality control. Scope control must be a continuous process throughout the entire project life cycle. 

• Next control project schedule and cost after carefully checking if the project is performed meeting the deadlines and the cost is intact within the approved limits. 

• Control quality, communication, risk, procurement, and stakeholder engagement. In these steps, it means that project monitoring and control should happen at each stage so that major damage can be avoided.

Establish the baselines of the project given below 

• Project Scope 

• Project Schedule

• Project Budget 

Make use of WBS and break the projects down into smaller units for easy management and earlier detection. 

Now use the requirements traceability matrix (RTM) and map or trace the project requirement. The matrix will connect between the actual performance and the planned performance. 

The following steps are carried out in every stage thus RTM will have enough data to compare and take corrective actions. 

• Make a plan and that is the first step. Understand the scope of the project, schedule the project timelines, and allocate cost. 

• The team will start working and obtain results. Now, it is vital to analyze the result at every step and not wait till the outcome 

• Identify the variances to analyze results once again and move them to acceptable and unacceptable variances. 

• The team will start working on the acceptable variances to the next step and follow the same process till final delivery. 

• On the other hand, pick up the unacceptable variances and identify the root cause. Then choose options to take necessary actions and implement them. Again verify results to start working.

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Summary 

The measure of the actual performance with the planned one is called monitoring and control. If there is any deviation, then understand the reasons for such delay or changes and take necessary actions to bring it back to track. 

The constant processes to track, review, adjust, and report about the project performance is called project monitoring and control. This involves checking the project work progress in terms of time, accuracy, and cost and whether all three factors are followed as per the plan. 

Update the current cost and project schedule to keep the business informed of the changes. Finally, implementing the approved changes and bring the project to closure as per the planned performance. 

This is a cyclic process until the desired outcome is produced. Throughout the process, every PM must actively involve the team to help them for progressing to the next stage. Register for a PMP certification online course and learn the knack of applying project monitoring and control to get a successful outcome. 

Tips for effective project monitoring and control

1. Start with planning and make sure to know the scope and perform quality control to let the customer verify the scope. 

2. After they approve start budgeting and plan timelines after integrating change control. Let the team start the work. 

3. WBS will help larger projects to be monitored in smaller units which will save time and cost. 

4. Keep checking at every stage and before taking control action find the root cause to document in lesson learned so that upcoming projects can be planned accordingly. 

This how you can efficiently carry out monitoring and controlling in project management

Final suggestions 

If you think project monitoring and control is a huge task, then don’t bother as it is not huge but to be done meticulously. For carrying out this you must attend training and obtain PMP certification. The training experts will tune your mind to follow the process in sequence and hence it becomes easy to manage the project. 

Don’t wait, just register with StarAgile and keep the ball moving. It is very important to be proactive to find issues before they cause major harm to the project. Revisit the planning process to update the project management plan which needs mastery and training will help.